Do I really need to get a COVID-19 booster? CDC real-world study confirms effectiveness - Austin American-Statesman

The study found that mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna have waning effectiveness 180 days after the second dose.

The effectiveness went from 94% to 82% for keeping people out of the emergency room and urgent care and from 94% to 90% for people keeping people from being hospitalized. .

The study also showed the difference in effectiveness during delta compared with omicron and how boosters played a role once they were introduced in the fall. During delta, vaccine effectiveness against emergency room and urgent care visits went from 86% between two weeks and six months after the second dose to 76% after six months.

For hospitalizations during delta, the effectiveness was 90% in the first six months after two doses, 81% six months after dose two and 94% after the third dose.

With omicron, that effectiveness against urgent care and emergency room visits went from 52% within six months of the second dose to 38% six months after the second dose to 82% after the booster. .

For hospitalizations during omicron, those numbers went from 81% within six months of the second dose to 57% six months after dose two to 90% after the third dose.

The Food and Drug Administration and the CDC now recommend that people ages 12 and up get a booster shot five months after they received their second Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

The only people who should not get a booster are those who had a severe reaction to the vaccine or are allergic to the vaccine components, which are common in other vaccines.

The hope is that with vaccination and keeping up with boosters, we can get COVID-19 to a place where it becomes seasonal with a vaccine to prevent deaths.